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August 29, 2025
 

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DEFENSE

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks near Elbridge Colby (right) at Colby’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee for undersecretary of defense for policy, at the Capitol in Washington on March 4.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2025
U.S. confirms new Pentagon No. 3 as Japan defense budget in crosshairs
Elbridge Colby is a known China hawk and advocate for Asian allies — including Japan — to spend more on defense.
A MQ-4C Triton drone taxis at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025
U.S. to send long-range surveillance drones to Japan amid Taiwan tensions
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said that the drones will be sent to the U.S. air base in Kadena, on Okinawa Prefecture’s main island, in the coming weeks.
The House of Representatives passed an active cyber defense bill on Tuesday in the Diet.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
Japan's Lower House passes active cyber defense bill
The bill is expected to be enacted by the end of the current ordinary Diet session, with the government planning to fully introduce an active cyber defense system in 2027.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks after touring the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Mogami frigate at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
NATO chief makes Japan debut with focus on defense industry tie-ups
Rutte will speak with defense industry representatives to get their assessment on “what they do to ramp up production and how we can better work together.”
A landmine-sniffing rat patrols a mine field in Preah Vihear province, Cambodia.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 8, 2025
Pivot by some countries toward landmine use appalls experts
Four countries said in a joint statement that "Russia's aggression" forced them to start moves to pull out of the 1997 Ottawa Treaty aimed at eliminating anti-personnel landmines.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks during a news conference at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels last week.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 7, 2025
With focus on ‘projecting power,’ NATO eyes greater Indo-Pacific role
NATO chief Mark Rutte expects the alliance to ramp up its engagement in the strategically important region as threats become increasingly interconnected.
U.S. F-16 fighter jets fly in formation during the opening ceremony of Cope Thunder, an annual bilateral exercise between the U.S. Pacific Air Forces and the Philippine Air Force, at Clark Air Base near Angeles City, Philippines, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 7, 2025
Philippines, U.S. launch joint drills aimed at 'deterrence'
The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Japan will take a leading role in U.S.-Japan defense cooperation during a Taiwan conflict and could eventually join AUKUS, expert says.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2025
Japan to play major defense role during Taiwan conflict, U.S. expert says
"Japan's own self-interest is much more at stake in a Taiwan contingency or in a Japan contingency than the United States is," Weinstein said.
At the launch ceremony on Sunday of the Self-Defense Forces Maritime Transport Group in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani presents the unit's group flag.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2025
Inaugural ceremony held for Japan SDF's Maritime Transport Group
The Maritime Transport Group was launched on March 24 as a unit jointly run by the Ground, Maritime and Air Self Defense Forces under the direct oversight of the defense minister.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte plans to visit Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday — his first to the Indo-Pacific region since taking office in October, as he seeks to implement lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 5, 2025
‘Let’s make it practical’: NATO chief eyes greater defense-industrial ties with Japan
Japan and NATO plan to take their partnership to the next level by stepping up information-sharing and defense-industrial cooperation, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.
National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 25.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 5, 2025
Democrats slam Trump's dismissal of NSA chief
Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer is reported to have pushed for the dismissal of NSA chief Timothy Haugh.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow in 2022. The war in Ukraine will eventually come to an end and Europe needs to come up with a unified strategy to be a formidable adversary in the Kremlin's eyes.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 4, 2025
Europe must set the terms for postwar Russia engagement now
Past trade with Russia didn't work to limit Moscow, but isolation isn't the way forward either. In an eventual postwar scenario, Europe should opt for deterrence, not dialogue.
Talks between the U.S. and China’s armed forces are a key indicator of the guardrails in place, even as the Trump administration and Beijing clash over a slew of issues.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 4, 2025
China and U.S. make first known military contact since Trump inauguration
Talks between the U.S. and China’s armed forces are a key indicator of the guardrails in place, even as the Trump administration and Beijing clash over a slew of issues.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2025
U.S. to remain in NATO, Rubio says, but higher defense spending needed
Rubio said Washington’s goal is for member states to prioritize defense spending to enable the alliance to become “stronger and more viable.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's contradictory statements on U.S. military strategy and alliances with Europe and Asia raise questions about his true stance, reflecting the chameleon-like nature of U.S. foreign policy under the Trump administration.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2025
Will the real Pete Hegseth please stand up?
The same fears remain in terms of security. Even if the Trump administration seeks to deter China, it is unlikely to shift its policy of so-called pacifism.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 3, 2025
At summit, NATO eyes growing industrial collaboration with Asian partners
The summit comes as the military alliance seeks to step up ties with its Indo-Pacific partners.
A F-18 jet lands on the runway of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier during military exercises in 2024.
WORLD
Apr 2, 2025
Pentagon sends second aircraft carrier to Mideast as Iran tensions rise
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered additional forces to the Middle East, including the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group and aircraft.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is planning an executive order that would ease rules governing exports of military equipment, sources have said.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025
Trump preparing executive order to increase weapons exports, sources say
An executive order could increase sales for big U.S. defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp. and Boeing.
Takashi Shiraishi (center), honorable emeritus professor at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and chair of the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World without Nuclear Weapons, speaks at a news conference after the group's meeting on Monday at the United Nations University in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward.
JAPAN
Apr 1, 2025
Global experts seek urgent action to prevent nuclear war
The experts warn that the risk of conventional warfare leading to the use of nuclear weapons is becoming serious.
Relatives and friends of prominent Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina, who died after she was injured by a Russian missile strike in the city of Kramatorsk, attend her funeral in Kyiv on July 4, 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2025
Contemplating victory and defeat in Ukraine
Ukrainians and their friends still cling to hope for victory — some are idealistic, others just fueled by anger.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Confusion over Japan’s ‘hometown’ plan overshadows African development event
First Lady Yoshiko Ishiba (center, in white and blue dress) hosts an event on Japanese culture with the first ladies of African leaders on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Virtual singer Kaf's music becomes magic in 'Kamitsubaki City Under Construction'
Virtual singer Kaf got her start in 2018 by posting songs and covers to YouTube. Now, after having performed live shows at major venues including Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan, she is turning to voice acting and starring in the new anime series “Kamitsubaki City Under Construction.”
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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